waite



June 8, 1954 P. C. WAlTE RUG Original Filed Sept. 17, 1949 v v @n l JNKENTOR. IWI/ C, VVG/@ Reissued June 8, 1954 "SUNITED STATES "PATENT 0F FICE RUG `Philip CrWate,shkoshfWis., assigner 'to Waite -Carpet'fCompany-a. corporation of Wisconsin yOriginal No. 2,583,192, datedJanuaryZ, ...1952,

.'.Serial No. 116,280,.September 17, 1949. Application for reissueDecember 17,' 1952,v Serialv No.

".- Claims.

- This invention relates toa floor covering such as a rug. It will`v beconvenient, in the ensuing description to use-the term rug with the. un-

derstanding that it.app1ies equal-ly'to door or wally coverings of the same .general character.

The rug chosen as an exemplication oi .this vinventionis of the `so-called,tufted.variety. This comprises a backing, usually of canvas, to-which short lengths of7 yarn areanchored to stand out upon the face ofY the Arug either in theV -fo-rm -of loops or a pile. Such rugs havel acquired'fa wide popularity yat the-present time, hut are some- .What decientfirom the standpointl oiappearance. The coloring-possibilities, when the usual dyes areemployed, are ratherv limited. In addition, such a rug, when produced from cotton yarn which is'themost common, usually comesin plain colors. Any such rug will show footprints .more readily, and is very.susceptible to matting. De- .ilciencies such. as'these are eliminated .in-.the present rug inwhich.. a subtle pattern .may be .produced to. improve itsappearance and to disguise in large part the matting -or wear that is .usually so .apparent vina plan,.,ali.over color.

The wearing vand utility valuefofv a rug produced according to .this invention is .accordingly .enhancedbecause-cf its improved and different design or texture.

l.These andvarious .otheradvantages and, objects are realized in a rug constructed according to ,this inventionof. which one suggestive. embodiment .is "illustrated in .the accompanying `drawing wherein- .Figure 1 is a. fragmentary top .planviewofythe rug; and

Fig. 2 is. agreatly enlargedk fragmentary-.view in section, taken on line 2 2 ,of Fig.. l.

The rug hereinshowncombines. a backing B `of canvas orthe likewith aplurality of. tufts .(either looped or cut to provide a. pile) that .are

.stitched through .the backing or otherwise secured thereto. 'Ther-tufts. are desirably, .although not necessarily,.arrangedaccording to a denite pattern, the rug illustrated .having the. tuftsfdisposed in rows extending', parallel with .one .ofits edges.

The-tufts vused .in the present 1ug.are..made ,preferably of yarn, ibut. of two types having .unlike properties, viz.: thoseydesignatedas A, which 4are relativelyabsorptiveof the dyeused .for coloring the. rug, ,and 4those designated..R,.which are Arelatively non-eabsorptive ofasuch dyeandqhere- Vinaf-ter sometimes referred to as resistant The 4tufts .made from. absorptive yarns.type. `A,..may convenientlyy vbey-,produced -in #whole-.for i inelarge (CL 28e-80) Matter enclosed in heavy'brack'ets-[lfappears in the original patent but formsy no part of this relssuespeclcation; matter'prnted -in Vitalics indicates theadditions made by reissue.

This is one of, a number of waysA of Vimparting to the face ofv the'rug an attractivegand distinctive appearance for reasons which will ,shortly be :pointed out.

The-word "rayoni as used herein, is thergeneric .term for-manufactured textile ber or yarn produced chemically from cellulose, orwith a cellulose ibase, and forthread or strands made therefrom. Such bers or yarns are made accordv`ing to various processes, one being known as viscose and another as acetate. The viscose :yarns-are produced fromy Ilamentsmade of regenerated cellulose xanthata Whereas acetate yarns are produced from lilaments formed-.by a

.compound of--cellulosez andfacetic acid which has Abeen coagulated A-distinguishing and charac- .-teristic Vfeatureof the latter is its sheen or lustrous appearance; `also one of its inherent-properties is .its resistance to, or non-absorptiveness of, .dyes of the direct type .whichare commonly employed for the coloring of manyv fabrics, including'! rugs.

While it is. possible to dye-treat the yyarns lbefore thek rug is constructed, it is preferable from aV manufacturing Astandpoint to .do vthis after completion of the rug. At thistimethe rug is rdipped. or otherwise colorftreated-with dye of a desiredcolor. .In this operation the cottonv and viscose yarnsabsorb-.the dye to the extent of being colored thereby not so, however, the acetate rayon. yarns whichI arer relatively -dyeeresistant As .a result, `when the .dye treatment is completed, the effects uponthe two types oyarnwill be. distinctly different. This is a feature of ma- -jor importance in the. production. of `the-novel and. attractive. color effects which characterize this invention.

There `are many optional variations in the ccn- .struction ofthe rug,and.'also. in the treatment roffI thef yarns-'Which ywillstill produce -the novel visual-effects -that characterize -the;present:'rug.

:For example, inl the illust-rated construction .the :one set of. tuftsJa-re made from viscose and aceftate. vrayonvyarnsl twisted together intoaione] a two ply yarn. The tufts so produced have avery .interesting color=y eiect due lto lthe :fact that in .places the dye hasbeen absorbed to transferrits color to the yarn tufts, Whereasein other. lplaces in the same tufts the dye has been resisted to the point of leaving intact the original lustrous color of the acetate rayon. By varying the proportions of the viscose and acetate rayon in the Amixture which goes into one type of tufts, the

visual effectwill be altered, and it is even possible to omit the viscose rayon altogether so that the yarns will consist entirely of acetate rayon whereby all the tufts made therefrom will be sharply different in appearance from the cotton tufts in the same rug. Likewise acetate rayon strands may be twisted with cotton strands to produce a mixture in the other type of tufts, and the distinctive contrasting appearance resulting from dye absorption by one material and resistance by the other, will be readily apparent in the tufts so treated.

In the commercial manufacture of rugs embodying the features of this invention, a multiple needle tufting machine may be used. The operations -will then proceed the same as with the manufacture of any other tufted rug, and when completed the dyeing operation will produce the novel eifects hereinbefore described. Any desired pattern may be produced in the rug, and the yarns going to make up the pattern will comprise two types, absorptive and resistant, so that in the resulting effect the lustre or sheen from the acetate rayon yarns will stand out throughout the pattern.

The present rug is characterized by a subtle pattern resulting from the presence of the spots or marks of lustre or sheen throughout the pattern. The effect is entirely novel, and affects noticeably the design or texture of the rug. The presence of the acetate rayon along with other materials in the rug improves its texture because it tends to stand out by contrast in a way that would not be possible if only a single material or single type of material, such as cotton or cotton and viscose rayon, were used throughout.

The presence of the acetate rayon even though only in a small amount, tends to minimize the appearance resulting from use of cotton as the major element of the rug. The acetate rayon,

tive design effect, it highlights the rug by its [contracting] contrasting lustre, it emphasizes the texture, it eliminates matting to a large extent, and, even `where the amount of acetate rayon used is small in proportion to the cotton base, surprising visual effects are achieved. Acetate rayon should be regarded as an example of a dye-repellant material having an attractive appearance, lustrous or otherwise, that is admirably suited for use with the present rug. There may be a number of Y other materials equally serviceable for the same purpose. Orlon (a [du] Du Pont synthetic product) is another example, just to mention one more.

In the description throughout the specification, I have referred to cotton as the base material since it is one of the best known and most widely used in the construction of rugs. It is to be understood, however, that other materials, such as wool or various combinations which might include even nylon, rayon, etc., come within the purview of this invention, the gist of which is the presence of a dye-resistant lustrous material comprised in the strands which go to make up the `tufts forming the over-all exposed surface of the work.

[Attached hereto, as Exhibit A, is a smallsized specimen of rug embodying the novel features of this invention] I claim: Y

1. A rug having a backing whereon are carried tufts of yarn of two types, one mainly cotton and the other a mixture of strands of viscose and acetate rayon twisted together into a [single] two ply yarn, [and both treated to a color dye which is readily absorbed into the cotton tufts but resisted by the acetate] said cotton tufts and strands of viscose rayon containing a relatively large amount of a color dye and said acetate rayon strands of the other set of tufts containing relatively little of said color dye, the color effects in the two sets of tufts varying according to the absorptive capacity of the two types of treated yarns and the strands of the rayon acetate producing spots of luster or sheen throughout the exposed face of the rug.

2. A rug having a backing whereon are carried tufts of yarn of two types, one mainly cotton andY the other a mixture of strands of viscose and acetate rayon. twisted together into a [single] two ply yarn, the cotton tufts being disposed in pairs and the mixture of strands of viscose and acetate rayon being formed into single tufts located between the pairs of cotton [tufts, and both tufts treated to a color dye which is readily absorbed into the cotton tufts but resisted] tufts, said cotton tufts and viscose strands containing a relatively large amount of a color dye and said [by the] acetate rayon strands of the other set of tufts containing a relatively small amount 0f' said color dye, the color effects in the two sets of tufts varying according to the absorptive capacity l, f rayon strands of the other set of tufts, the color when used in varying amounts, gives a distinceffects in the two sets of tufts varying according to the absorptive capacity of the two types of treated yarns and the strands of rayon acetate producing spots of luster or sheen throughout the exposed face of the rug] [4. A rug having a backing whereon are carried tufts of yarn of two types, one mainly cotton and the other a mixture of strands of viscose and acetate rayon twisted together into a single ply yarn, the cotton tufts being disposed in pairs and the mixture of strands of viscose and acetate rayon being formed into single tufts located between the pairs of cotton tufts, and both tufts treated to a color dye which is readily absorbed into the cotton tufts but resisted by the acetate rayon strands of the outer set of tufts, the color effects in the two sets of tufts varying according to the absorptive capacity of the two types of treated yarns and the strands of rayon acetate producing spots of luster or sheen throughout the exposed face of the rug producing a subtle pattern resulting from the presence of the lustrous spots and affecting noticeably the design and texture of the rug] 5. A rug having a backing whereon are carried tufts of yarn of two types, one being of a relatively dye absorptive material, and the other a mixture of strands of viscose and acetate rayon twisted together into a two ply yarn, said dye absorptive material and viscose rayon containing a relatively large amount of a color dye and said acetate rayon strands containing relatively little of said color dye, the color effects in the two sets of tufts varying according to the absorptive capacity of the viscose rayon and said dye absorptive material and the strands of the rayon acetate producing spots of luster or sheen throughout the exposed face of the rug.

6. A rug having a backing whereon are carried tufts of yarns of two types, one being of a relatively dye absorptive material, and the other a mixture of strands of relatively dye absorptive material and relatively dye resistant material having a luster or sheen thereto twisted together into a two ply yarn, said dye absorptive materials having a relatively large amount of a color dye and said dye resistant material having a relatively small amount of said dye, the two sets of tufts varying according to the absorptive capacity of the dye absorptive materials therein and the strands of dye resistant material producing spots of luster or sheen throughout the exposed face of the rug.

7. A rug having a backing whereon are carried tufts of yarns of two types, one being a mixture of strands of relatively dye absorptive material and relatively dye resistant material twisted together into a two ply yarn, and the other being of a material having dye characteristics similar to one of the above materials, said dye absorptive material containing a relatively large amount of a color dye and said dye resistant material con- 6 taining relatively little of said color dye, the color effects in the two sets of tufts varying according to the absorptive capacity of the dye absorptive material therein.

References Cited in the le 0 1 this patent or the original patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,816,766 De Niederhausern July 28, 1931 1,818,540 Dreyfus Aug. 11, 1931 1,838,663 Dreyfus Dec. v29, 1931 1,978,786 Ellis Oct. 30, 1934 2,020,698 Platt Nov. 12, 1935 2,048,796 Kirk et.v al July 28, 1936 2,143,574 Porter et al. Jan. 10, 1939 2,178,744 Ellis et al Nov. 7. 1939 2,212,744 Masland, Jr Aug. 27, 1940 2,318,345 Wadely et a1. May 4. 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 10,155 Great Britain July 12, 1888 191,120 Great Britain June 8, 1922 313,992 Great Britain June 21, 1929 316,504 Great Britain Aug. 1, 1929 316,982 Great Britain Aug. 7, 1929 323,180 Great Britain Dec. 23, 1929 324,877 France Dec. 27, 1902 741,642 France Dec. 13, 1932 

